US media hacking linked to China

BAD NEWS:Several prolific media outlets have reported cyberattacks, which they and some security experts say come from Beijing, though others say the link is tenuous

AFP, WASHINGTON

A string of cyberattacks on major US media outlets like the New York Times has intensified worries over Chinese hackers, who analysts say are probably linked to the Beijing government.

The attacks, part of a series of incidents traced to Chinese servers associated with previous intrusions, underscore an urgent need for Washington to urge Beijing to rein in its digital warriors, experts say.

Other security professionals say that it is hard to be certain the attacks stem from China or that the hackers acted at the behest of the government.

Last week, the Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that their computer networks had been compromised, alleging that it was an effort by the Chinese government to spy on news media operating in the country.

On Friday, Twitter said it too had been hit with a sophisticated cyberattack. It did not name the suspected source, but said the infiltration was similar to those suffered by big news media.

On Saturday, the Washington Post disclosed that in 2011, it had also been the target of a cyberattack that it suspected Chinese hackers of perpetrating.

James Lewis, a cybersecurity specialist at US think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there is evidence to back the allegations of Chinese government involvement.

Hackers from China have previously been linked to attacks on US defense giant Lockheed-Martin, Google and Coca-Cola. Other reports say Chinese hackers have tried to infiltrate the Pentagon’s computers and those of US lawmakers.

“The Chinese don’t play by the rules that the rest of the world plays by,” Lewis told reporters. “That’s partly because they don’t understand them and partly because they don’t value them.”

Lewis said the level of attacks is “reaching an intolerable level” and will force a US government response that goes beyond words.

The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that in his coming book, Google chairman Eric Schmidt brands China an Internet menace that sanctions cybercrime for economic and political gain.

The New Digital Age was co-authored by Schmidt and Jared Cohen, a former US Department of State adviser who heads a Google Ideas think tank. The book is due to be released in April.

The authors reportedly brand China “the world’s most active and enthusiastic filterer of information” and “the most sophisticated and prolific” hacker of foreign companies.

Former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday said that there has been an increase in hacking attacks on both state institutions and private companies.

“We have to begin making it clear to not only the Chinese ... that the United States is going to be having to take actions to protect not only our governments but our private sector from this kind of illegal intrusion,” she said.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at British security firm Sophos, said media had not considered themselves likely targets of attacks until now.

He said that if the recent reports are accurate, the goal is likely “to track who the journalists may be meeting and take actions against those people.”